The primary objective of this project is to estimate the impact of collective bargaining on hospital costs. We shall analyze the behavior of costs in short-term general hospitals in four states: Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Cross-sectional data on the level of costs in 1975 and on changes in costs between 1971 and 1975 will be analyzed by means of multiple regression analysis. Because the extent and stringency of prospective hospital rate controls varies considerably among these four states, our analysis will yield information on the way in which these controls affect union impacts on costs. Dependent variables in our analysis pertain to total costs and to the costs for particular departments within the hospital (nursing and housekeeping). A subsidiary objective of our study is to estimate union impacts on the mix between labor and non-labor costs. These impacts may arise if hospitals respond to unionization by substituting capital for unionized labor or by an increased use of subcontracting. Another subsidiary objective of our study is to provide descriptive information on the extent of collective bargaining in the four study states during the 1970-75 period.